Skill
Makes Nutritious Food Choices
Child identifies healthy foods, understands that food helps the body grow, and makes nutritious choices with growing independence.
Ages 36–60 months
Why it matters
Preschoolers can begin to reason about why we eat the foods we do. Naming healthy and less-healthy foods, understanding that variety helps the body grow, and reading their own hunger and fullness give children the knowledge and self-regulation to make nutritious choices on their own.
Builds toward this milestone
- develops knowledge and skills that help promote nutritious food choices and eating habits. — Head Start ELOF
What mastery looks like
- Identifies a variety of healthy and less-healthy foods.
- Explains in simple terms that eating a variety of foods helps the body grow.
- Makes healthy eating choices both independently and with support.
- Adjusts how much they eat based on feeling hungry or full.
How to observe it
- When choosing a snack, can the child point out which options are healthy?
- Does the child stop eating when full rather than finishing out of habit?
Accessibility
- Use picture cards and real foods so children can match and choose without relying on text.
- Respect cultural foods and family practices when discussing healthy choices.
Safety
- Keep food talk positive and pressure-free, and follow each child's allergy and dietary plan.
Activities
Evidence
- Head Start Early Learning Outcomes Framework (ELOF) — U.S. Office of Head Start · 2015 · U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
Early Atlas